


You Know a Song is Good if it Makes You Cry or Feel

by Klouds



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Fluff, M/M, a neighbor AU no one asked for, also they play a game, i love scene breaks, i love skyhill dan with all my heart you have no diea, it's also kind of long so yay, there are some bad words up ahead, they become friends and story ensues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-16 08:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5820538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klouds/pseuds/Klouds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arin moves into a nice apartment, enjoying the stress filled life of trying to get a job as an animator. And not only that, his neighbor next to him can't stop singing. He hates his landlord.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Know a Song is Good if it Makes You Cry or Feel

**Author's Note:**

> things mentioned that could help (in order of the story):
> 
> Arin's shirt: sailor moon s locket  
> midnight city by m83  
> a picture of lean cuisine  
> dk song first mentioned: bramble blast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73n7HTcmb5g)  
> k. rool is cruel if you say it as one word.  
> skyhill's run with the hunted album  
> black and white  
> black and white (reprise)  
> dk song last mentioned: aquatic ambiance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAPpVplHiDE)

_part i_

           Groaning. That’s all he heard from the apartment beside him. When he woke up, as he showered, while he carefully shaved any unnecessary hair, and even when he made his bed. All Arin heard was groaning from the apartment over. It wasn’t one long consecutive groan nor was it a monster moan like something was ready to attack and kill at any moment. It was a frustrated groan, like the ones you get when you have a song stuck in your head and you can’t even remember the name of the freaking song.

    Anyways.

  
           Arin decided to try to tune out the groaning by turning on the radio on his stereo, although he was carefully made sure it wasn’t too loud. He switched it on, a car advertisement being the first thing he heard. Arin walked over to his kitchen, avoiding the sun slowly falling into the room like a waterfall. The one thing about the apartment he decided to rent in a suburban area is how clear the air seemed compared to the city. He was actually able to see the city buildings from the tenth floor. He was also able to see the smog surrounding them as well.

           He grabbed a box of Lucky Charms from his pantry, a bowl that he bought at a dollar store not too far from his apartment, a plastic spoon, and milk which was on the verge of expiring. He sat down, about to serve himself his breakfast when he heard singing that was definitely not from the radio. He waited, as it had ceased when he took notice of it, and once he believed that it wasn’t going to continue, a man’s voice made it’s way past the walls and almost into Arin’s room. It was calming, like rushing water in a creek. Relaxing and lulling. Although the stopping and the impatient groans ruined the feeling the voice was giving off. The person singing sounded like they were trying to figure out the “song”, since they kept changing words or going at a faster pace before slowing down and eventually giving up all together. All Arin could think at that moment with such a enchanting voice growing louder was that the landlord had lied about not having thin walls. As far as he could tell, it was as if there wasn’t any walls at all. Arin quickly ate his bowl of cereal, changing into jeans and a black t-shirt, and rushed out of his apartment hoping that by the time he would be back, the singing would already be gone.

* * *

 

           Donkey Kong Country 2. It was a game a friend of his had asked him to play. To find an old copy that was for the Super Nintendo System was so hard but luckily he was able to find it at a old game store that had a lot of classic games they sold for cheap. Arin had spent that whole day wandering the shopping areas of the suburban area and by the time he made it back to his apartment, the sun had already hid itself behind mountains, allowing the moon to take it’s place.  He was slightly cranky since when he mentioned to his friend that he bought the stupid game, he told Arin that _he_ had a copy and he “could have just asked him to borrow it, you silly goof.” Needless to say, Arin’s day could have gone a little better.

            He unlocked the door to his apartment, remembering the singing voice in the apartment beside his. It was quiet now, and he had a feeling that whoever was there earlier was no longer there. That was a blessing for Arin since he would be able to play the game in peace. He threw his keys on his working desk, the unfinished project mocking him, reminding him how he was avoiding his work that was due in a month. All he had so far was scribbled doodles, drawn in a frantic and ideas jotted down in a rush and he couldn’t even read what he had written. It was his lucky break, being allowed to work in a big time animation studio but he couldn’t think of a single thing to draw. The assignment was simply given to him with hardly anything to point him the right direction. “Create a character that would go on an adventure without ever realizing it.” What did that even mean? Was it a character that would live in a fantasy world, or live in the modern world? Should that said character be realistic or not?

           Arin popped in a very fine and exquisite dinner into the microwave (lean cuisine) and he decided to dress in his best attire (grey sweats and his sailor moon shirt)   for when he was going to begin an adventure without ever realizing it (ha). He sat down on his loveseat couch in his living room and turned on the system, the RARE logo quietly playing out of the t.v speakers.

           While it wasn’t one the greatest things he was proud to admit (but still admitted nonetheless), Arin was able to go a very long time playing video games to the point where he can finish a game in two days straight. For this reason, Arin was still awake at three in the morning when he heard thumping against his apartment door. He immediately flinched, coming out of his state like trance to realize that he was most likely going to die and he hoped it would be quick. Against his better judgement, he paused the game and slowly made his way to the door not before he grabbed his baseball bat from his room. He really hated his landlord. He swung the door wide open, bat ready in his hand. All he saw was a guy lying against the wall next to his door.

           “Jesus Christ!” he whispered loudly, clutching his hand against his chest. He was so close to almost having to go change into a different pair of underwear. He collected himself, finally asking what the hell was this guy doing there in the first place. He looked at him, wild curly hair  barely touching his shoulders, a scar that was on his right eyebrow, and he had a very tall stature to him with his arms and legs being long, almost too long for his body.  Arin muttered quietly to himself. He slowly went to tap the man on the shoulder.

           “Psst.” he whispered, waiting (and hoping) he would wake up and go to wherever his apartment was. Was he even on the right floor? There was a chance that maybe he passed out from drinking so much. It was a saturday-well, sunday morning really but whatever- so maybe this guy went to a party and had a little too much. Regardless, now that Arin found him like this, he felt like he had a responsibility to make sure this guy was okay. Sighing, he grabbed the man’s arms and (failing) threw him on his back. Only his arms were around his shoulders while the man’s legs were literally being dragged into Arin’s apartment.

           He placed the man on his couch, accidentally forgetting that he left his half-eaten plate there. The man’s head fell onto that plate and Arin groaned to himself. This really wasn’t going as he planned.

 

_part ii_

 

            Midnight City. He was sure that was the song that was playing. Which is weird because he doesn’t usually listen to M83. He opened his eyes, a pounding headache quickly forming. When he looked at whatever was playing the song, the first thing he noticed was that he was not in his apartment. He spotted the phone by the coffee table, blaring the alarm clock. He sat up, wincing at the pain from moving his neck a certain way. He grabbed the phone and slid the alarm off. It was seven in the morning.

           Dan looked around, unfamiliar objects all around him. He could hear quiet snoring from the closed bedroom. Jeez, what the heck did he do last night? All he remembered was going to the studio in the early afternoon yesterday after finally figuring out the song’s lyrics. He didn’t even have time to eat at all from working the entire time yesterday. He figured that he must have accidentally...oh jeez, he couldn’t understand how he got from point a (the studio) to point b (this apartment which was clearly not his).

           Suddenly, he heard water running from the room and he panicked. Maybe he should leave? But what if the person helped him out and he just left without even saying thank you. Wouldn’t that be considered rude? He decided to lay down and pretend to still be asleep. He waited and he finally heard the door open. Dan didn’t move a single inch, and he didn’t even realize that he wasn’t breathing.

           “Oh, shit, I forgot.” someone whispered. The voice was deep which allowed Dan to guess that the person was a guy. He heard shuffling all around him, like someone was picking up stuff. Maybe he should yawn and very coincidentally wake up at the same exact time this guy made a loud noise. Except, this guy decided to wake him up instead.

           “Uhm, hello?” the person said quietly, tapping Dan in the shoulder. Now, quickly understand that Dan didn’t know what to do at the moment. For the most part, he was slightly embarrassed that he had ended up in someone else's apartment. Still, he probably owed it to this person for actually letting him stay here? Maybe?

           Dan opened his eyes to see a man with a very pudgy looking face, brown hair that looked incredibly soft to touch and a blonde streak on one side, and a shirt with some kind of large red locket on it. The man’s eyes were filled with worry.

“Uhh, hi?” Dan responded and the man sighed a long breath of relief.

“You scared me half to death, man. Jeez.” the man said. Dan sat up again, this time trying not to hurt his neck.

“Sorry. I don’t really remember what happened last night.” Dan said, hoping whoever this guy was could explain it to him.

           “I don’t either. All I know is you were outside my door one moment and I just brought you inside my apartment. By the way, sorry.” the man apologized, pointing to Dan’s hair. Dan’s frowned in confusion, and when he went to touch his hair, all he could feel was some type of pasta stuck in his hair. He groaned in disgust and wiped his hand on his jacket.

“Lean Cuisine,” Arin told him and Dan gave a weak smile. At the mention of food, his stomach growled loudly.

“My bad,” Dan apologized, getting up. He stretched, letting his hands go high up as they could and feeling his shirt rising slightly.

“It’s cool. I was going to have breakfast anyway. Want something?” the man asked. Dan nodded, willing to take any offer of food. When was the last time he ate anyways? Or showered?

“I’m Dan.”

“I’m Arin.”

* * *

 

“Next to me? You mean on this side?” Arin said, pointing toward the right side of the room. Dan nodded, taking another bite of his eggs.

“Dude, you were so freaking loud yesterday, groaning and moaning almost every second.” Arin exclaimed.

“Sorry. I was working on a song.” Arin shook his head, letting Dan know that it was no trouble at all (which is a lie).

“Do you already have an album out?” Arin asked.

           “No, that’s the thing. This is the first album my band is going to release and I haven’t actually finished all the songs.. I only have about a month left before we release the album so you could say I’m a little stressed,” Dan admitted. Arin unconsciously looked over at his desk.

“I know how you feel.” Arin said.

“Anyway, when it comes down to listening to you, you’re really good.” Arin complimented Dan. Dan smiled sheepishly.

“Aww, thanks man.” Dan said.

“No, seriously. I can’t explain it but your voice reminds me of the forest. It’s just so calming.”

           “Really, Arin, thanks,” Dan said, a small twinkle in his eyes. “I don’t know but music really relaxes me. I just really care so much about it. I guess that’s why I’m stressing out over this album.”

Arin nodded, a comfortable silence settling over them.

“Do you want to hang out with me today?” Dan asked, his eyes never stopping all his emotions from swimming around the brown inside.

“Umm, weren’t you just finished telling me about how you needed to finish your album?” Arin asked, trying his best to not sound rude.

“I know. But I need a break, you know? And since you don’t seem to be doing anything today,” Dan said.

“Excuse you, but I happen to be very busy today with my game and all.” Arin said, feigning hurt.

“Exactly.” Dan told him, trying his best to suppress his laughter.

“Fine. But you have to play.” They both headed to Arin’s couch, leaving the table with their half eaten breakfast.

            They talked. A lot. They wondered and questioned and answered and in between was yelling (mostly from Arin dying in a place he swore he shouldn’t have died and this game is a pile of shit). Dan learned that Arin is trying to be an animator, he takes language classes, he’s younger than him by a couple of years, and he is very very inappropriate. They’re strangers, who have gotten to know each other a little bit better, but still, they’re strangers and Arin is already so comfortable around Dan. Maybe that was a good thing.

           “Ah, man, this song sounds kind of sad.” Arin suddenly said. Dan stopped talking about a story he was telling Arin to listen to the song. He looked over at Arin who had this very far off look in his eyes.

“Aww, is someone getting emotional?” Dan teased.

“Pssh, pssh, no!” Arin said sarcastically. They both laughed at Arin who pretended to wipe a tear from his eyes.

“But, no you’re right, it does sound kinda nostalgic.”

“You know I really like video game music?” Arin admitted, who already has his eyes glued to the screen once again.

“Yeah?”

           “Yeah, it’s soothing. I don’t know but it calms me. Especially a reprise of a song. Ah, it’s like the same song but different emotions in it. Like, there’s this overwhelming feeling that's constantly felt in a game and suddenly it’s there in a reprise.”

“Oh, sure.” Dan looked at Arin, nodding slightly. It did change him a bit. His rowdy demeanor was slightly calmer, his posture a little more relaxed.

“GOD DAMN IT!” Arin yelled, dying for the tenth time on the same board. _Yeah, it definitely calms him down,_ Dan thought, laughing to himself.

  


_part iii_

           His laugh. He was going to punch himself in the face if he heard his laugh one more time. It wasn’t because he hated it. Actually, it was kind of the opposite. He really, really liked it. It was contagious, even with the snorting and the wheezing he did. And maybe his smile too. At this point he didn’t know what he didn’t like about Dan. After “saving his life” that night two weeks ago, as Dan liked to claim as a joke, they haven’t stopped hanging out since. Arin would sit at his desk, trying to work while Dan would sit on the couch singing softly to himself, sometimes a little bit louder when he got really into the song he was working on. Eventually they would both decide that it was a good time to take a break and play just a few levels of Donkey Kong. And that’s when the jokes and the smiles and laughs would come into play. Arin began to realize that he enjoyed Dan’s company way more than he should have. Especially when he realized he liked it when Dan’s thigh would touch his own. Or if Arin made a really funny joke, Dan would fall back onto the couch in a fit of snorts and giggles and eventually end up on Arin’s shoulder.

           They would text each other constantly, staying at each other’s apartment since they “were too lazy to walk so far to their own bed” and neither of them would be troubled by it. For Arin, it was something different. Like it was seeing the world again for the first time. When he told Dan that in a very subtle and trying not to come onto him kind of way, Dan laughed and said “I get that feeling too.” and when he heard that, Arin felt hopeful and he had no idea why.

           Which is why Arin contemplated on his bed for almost an hour trying to figure out if what he felt for Dan was something much more. And also how he was going to finish his project in one day before it was due. He ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous feeling lingering in his stomach.

           “Hey, Arin!” Dan called out, opening the door to Arin’s apartment. Arin heard the rustling of a plastic bag. _He probably brought chinese_ , Arin thought to himself. He gulped in a large breath of air, forcing himself to calm down and freaking relax. He went over to the dining room, forcing a smile. He hadn’t told Dan about the project he needed to work on since he was afraid Dan might think that he was wasting his time or something.

“Ready to finish this game?” Dan said, turning on Arin’s system.

“Isn’t your album coming out sometime tomorrow? Aren’t you going to want to check it?” Arin asked. Dan just smiled.

            “It’s cool. I’m not worried.” he said, his eyes betraying him. Arin decided not to push him about it and grabbed plates for the two of them. At that moment, Arin decided on something. If he beat the game tonight, he would tell Dan. Tell him what, hell if he knew. But he was going to tell him.

The laughs and smiles were still there, covering the feelings of anxiety and worries that surrounded the two of them for very different reasons.

           By the time they got to the boss battle, it was already two in the morning. Arin needed to beat this game and he wasn’t going to let some asshat called K. freakin Rool beat him. They were both at the edge of the couch, with Dan cheering Arin on and giving some support. Finally, the stupid alligator crocodile thing died and Arin just sat back on the couch while Dan smiled widely and congratulated him.

“The game was amazing, I have to admit. Especially the music.” Dan commented. Arin nodded, smiling back at him.

“I gotta tell you something, Dan.” he said, a little bit too quietly than he would have liked. Worry flashed in Dan’s eyes but he covered it up with a smile.

“Sure man, what is it?”

“You remember how I was telling you that I was trying to be an animator?” Arin started off. Dan nodded, the music still playing in the background.

“I have a project that I have to turn into this big animation group by tomorrow. If they like it, they’ll hire me.”

“Oh, cool! Congrats.”  
  
“But, I didn’t start it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish it if I started. And I’m okay with that.”  
  
“Arin, but you said you really wanted to be an animator.”

           “True. I’m not going to say it’s not important to me. But, to be honest, I kind of found something a little bit more important throughout this month.” Arin said, trying to be as sincere as he could be.

“Wait, Arin,” Dan said, looking at him slightly pained.

           “It’s okay, Dan. I’m okay with it. Seriously.” Arin leaned in close and Dan leaned in close too. Their lips met softly and carefully so they wouldn’t overstep any boundaries. But when Arin felt Dan’s mouth open slightly, he took the chance to kiss him a little bit fiercer. He was pretty sure that the feelings he had for Dan Avidan was more than just friendship.

Dan suddenly stood up, forcing them to break apart.

“I need to go.” he said suddenly.

“Uh,” Arin said, a little bit out breath.

            “Don’t worry, i’m not running away. I just...need to write something. I’ll be back, I promise. Later.” Dan grabbed a box of leftover chinese food and ran out the door not before yelling out something to Arin.

“Start your project, Arin!”

* * *

 

           A two minute video about two guys playing a video game. It was all centered around a joke that really made the guy with the wild hair laugh a lot. It was messy with hardly much to show but it was what he could pull off in literally one night. He tried his hardest cleaning any little thing that was easy to notice. When he sent the animation project (via email) , he didn’t even incorporate a synopsis of what the hell they were going to watch. Instead, all he did was title it and send it off one minute before it was due. He let himself fall back on his chair, the sun beginning to creep up from behind the buildings in the far off distance. The window to his apartment was open and the only thing he could hear were the birds singing in the tree that stood beside the apartment complex. He rubbed his eyes and trotted over to the couch, unable to send a text to Arin that he had somehow finished.

           About a few hours later of a very wonderful nap, his text tone woke him up, drool falling from the side of his mouth. He wiped it and grabbed his phone from the coffee table beside him.

_It’s finished. I sent you the album to your email. Please listen to it._

_Danny Sexbang (ha)_

 

           Arin stared at the screen. Jesus, were dreams coming true really quickly for everyone. He obliged to the message, going to his email and opening up the album. The album cover was black, a white wolf placed right in the center. He allowed his phone to “play it this one time.” Arin decided to shower while he listened to Skyhill’s album.

           And boy, was that a mistake. He stood there in the shower for a greater amount of time than usual because of what he had just listened to. And the fact that 1) there was a song that was about what Arin had told Dan one day and 2) there was a reprise of that said song. There was no way that was purely coincidental. He wasn't sure how to feel. Obviously, he wanted to be happy but what if it really wasn't for him. Still...was it okay to be hopeful?

           He dried himself, quickly changing so he would call Dan. Yet, when he did call, it went straight to voicemail. Arin was worried, afraid that maybe Dan had changed his mind and maybe regretted putting in those songs in the album. Until he heard a thump on the door.

Walking and definitely not rushing over to his apartment door, he opened it up to see Dan holding a box of pizza, a bottle of soda, and a small paper bag in his mouth.

“I brut da fur pat.” Dan said, mumbling. Arin gave him a confused look, grabbing the bag from his mouth.

“I brought the first part.” He tried again. He mentioned for Arin to look inside the bag. He opened it up and saw a SNES game cartridge inside. The title on it read: _Donkey King country 1._

Even though Arin wanted to thank Dan for bringing everything and did he have pepperoni pizza, that is definitely _not_ what came out of his mouth.

“Why did you do it?”  Dan’s smile slowly faded and he looked so serious, with the same look he had when he was writing.

           “To be honest,” Dan began allowing himself to enter. “I had already slightly finished the words for the song about a week ago.  When you told me that I basically took up your time playing video games instead of allowing you to start your project-”

“Dan-”

           “Sorry. I'm still a little mad at myself for that. Anyway, yesterday, I had this idea for the rest of the song. And I spent all night yesterday, with my band finishing up both songs. You’re welcome.” Dan teased, placing a hand on his stomach and bowing. Arin stood there, staring at Dan’s eyes, galaxies exploding inside, especially since the sun inside his apartment lit up his eyes more than usual.

“You’re a pretty bad neighbor, Dan.” Arin joked. Dan tilted his head in confusion and Arin just grabbed the soda on top of the pizza.

“I like Coke way more.”

* * *

  


“Oh, this song sounds kind of nice.” Dan commented to Arin.

“JESUSSSSS!!” Arin yelled, getting killed this time by some stupid shark.

“Did you hear it while you were in the middle of screaming?” Dan asked and Arin composed himself.

“I did actually. You know, this composer needs to relax with these really depressing songs.”

“I know, right? It's kind of hard to finish the game while I have tears in my eyes.” Dan joked and Arin chuckled, agreeing.

            Dan heard his phone ring, and he looked over at Arin who just nodded at him. Dan walked over to the phone set on the coffee table, the shirt he was wearing with a locket on it flowing from how big it was on him. He opened up the email, his heart racing and a smile forming on his face as he read it.

 

_Dear Mr. Arin Hanson,_

_Congratulations on being accepted into our animation studio. We hope we get to see more of your characters and 'GameGrumps' in the future.”_

 

“Hey, Arin...guess what.”


End file.
